Friday, June 13, 2014

The Cedar Cliff High School Simulated Archaeological Excavation Project

overview of mock excavation site 36Cu210

Closing out the school year once again, the Archaeology Section of the State Museum of
Pennsylvania returned to Cedar Cliff High School (West Shore School
District, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania) to assist with a three week simulated
archaeological project as part of Mr. Daniel Reilly’s AP WorldHistory class. Through this innovative program students learn hands-on about archaeology at a simulated site near the high school's sports stadium. For these students the multi-disciplinary skills built here integrate well with other classes in science and mathematics.

History teacher Dan Reilly and student inspect a shaker screen for artifacts

A
simulated archaeological excavation can be defined as an experimental project
organized by a classroom teacher that has an educational goal of reconstructing
human behavior using archaeological techniques (Chiarulli et al. 2000). Although, students can learn about archaeology and
archaeological methods in a classroom setting, there is nothing like a hands-on
experience through a simulated excavation. In the past, the Section of
Archaeology at the State Museum has worked with Susquehanna High School on a
very popular forensics archaeology project and now another high school is
getting involved in archaeology as a way to enhance the educational experience
of their students.

The
field work actually began several weeks ago, when Mr. Reilly (assisted by
several other teachers who were intrigued with the project) created a mock
archaeological site by burying artifacts in the ground. They created a
multi-component site; that is, one dating to both historic Euroamerican times
and one dating to a Native American occupation prior to the arrival of the
Europeans. The artifacts buried in the Native American camp site included a fire-cracked-rock
hearth or oven with charcoal and food remains situated next to a pile of flakes
from the production of stone tools (debris created by an actual flint knapping
demonstration). In the corner of the site, three burials were placed; not
actual human remains, but deer skeletons aligned in a human-like fashion – thus
creating the “deer people”! The Euroamerican site is represented by a brick
fireplace with charcoal, broken dishes and food remains. Mr. Reilly registered
the site with the Pennsylvania Archaeological Site Survey and was assigned the
number of 36CU0210.

hands-on discovery and discussion at the shaker screen

The
students began with several days of classroom related work where they were
taught the difference between archaeology and paleontology; that archaeology is
a subfield of anthropology – the study of human cultures; the nature and
significance of stratigraphy; and the importance of archaeological context or
the location of the site and the three dimensional location of the artifacts
within it.

students excavate at the location of the "deer people" burial sites

Mr.
Reilly holds a Masters degree in Archaeology from Queen’s University of Belfast
in Northern Ireland where he has excavated Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Medieval
sites. He also spent four years conducting
compliance archaeology (i.e. archaeology conducted in compliance with historic
preservation laws such as the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 or
the State History Code) in the Middle Atlantic
region before becoming a teacher. He is very excited about this project but it
required a lot of planning and effort on his part. Working with a limited
budget, he received assistance from The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Section
of Archaeology in the form of equipment (shovels, buckets, tapes and screens). Perhaps
next year, someone will be willing to donate these materials as a permanent contribution
to this ongoing project. Just as importantly, a staff person from the Archaeology
Section of the State Museum was on hand most days to help with the management
of his crew.

Field
work began with the students conducting a controlled surface collection across
the ten meter (30 feet) by sixteen meter (48 feet) site, placing flags where
artifacts were found. This was followed by a lesson on the Topcon total station
(a laser based electronic transit and data recorder) from a staff person from
the State Museum and laying out the excavation grid. Archaeology is all about
mapping and identifying patterning in artifact distributions. Everything needs
to be mapped!

The
State Museum recently received a new data recorder which was generously donated
by Productivity Products and Services, Inc. in Saxonburg, Pa. This recorder replaced one that was nearly 20
years old and no longer functioning.
This donation allowed us to demonstrate current data collection methods
and produce detailed and accurate site maps of the excavation.

Based
on the controlled surface collection, eight teams of two students each selected
a one meter unit for excavation. Using the principles of the Pythagorean
Theorem (A squared + B squared = C squared), the students placed stakes at the
corner of their squares, connected them with string and started excavating. The
plowzone is removed with shovels and the soil is screened through a ¼ inch mesh
shaker screen. The students were taught that the artifacts in the plowzone have
been disturbed and their context has been compromised. Consequently, they do
not need to be mapped with the same precision as those found at deeper levels in
undisturbed soil layers. But, once in the subsoil, they began to more carefully
dig with trowels.

The
field work portion of the project concluded allowing students to prepare their reports. Each team was responsible for taking detailed field
notes to document the location of features and the artifacts found in them. In
the lab, the artifacts will be examined and a report developed that documents
the methods and the findings. The students enjoy finding “stuff”, but they will
also enjoy weaving the story of how the artifacts ended up at the site. Each
student’s excavation report will include a review of excavation methodology, an
analysis of recovered artifacts, conclusions drawn about each “culture” based
on that analysis, and a recommendation for further work at 36CU0210.

Archaeology
is a multidisciplinary study and allows teachers to demonstrate basic principles
of science, geology, biology, mathematics, history and anthropology. Simulated
archaeological projects can be a learning and entertaining experience for the
students where they use archaeological data in a multidisciplinary program to
develop critical thinking skills. The public frequently feels that
archaeologists guess or speculate about how people behaved in the past. In
fact, archaeology is a science and archaeologists develop hypotheses which are
tested at archaeological sites. A simulated archaeological project demonstrates
a systematic approach to scientific discovery and it emphasizes behavior rather
than artifacts. Participation in this project and other outreach programs
provides an opportunity for staff at the State Museum to educate the public in
understanding archaeological methods and improves the image of how archaeology
is accomplished. In summary, an archaeological field experience for high school
students allows teachers to answer the age old question often asked by students
when taking science math, etc… – “Why do we have to know this stuff?” This
experience leads students to see a direct application of how other disciplines
tie into creating the ‘big picture’ and allows them to understand why all
learning is important.

2 comments:

Back in the 70s Tom Walsh at Owen J. Roberts High School in Bucktown PA was taking students on real archaeological digs with SPA legends John Schrader and Elmer Erb. Simulated digs ... what a dumb concept!!!!

We agree that an archaeological field school is most effective when conducted on an established archaeological site with highly trained supervision. However, it isn't always feasible to accomplish this in a high school setting. Considering class scheduling (two classes per week for 55 minutes each), it is not practical to transport students off campus to a “real archaeological” site. In addition, archaeology is a destructive process; excavation needs to be carefully controlled and research driven working towards the resolution of significant research problems. Most high schools do not have access to this type of site. Finally, the teacher’s day is filled with teaching and other responsibilities; they don’t get paid after the last class and it takes a lot of logistical organization on their own time to conduct a simulated dig let alone a real excavation. Mr. Reilly has offered this program for several years and he has done it well. The students have a wonderful experience while learning some basic archaeological field and lab methods. This experience definitely prepares them for a field school at the college level. Simulated excavations provide training but they also expose the students to the rigors of scientific archaeology. We need better training opportunities for students involved in North American archaeology and simulated excavation obviously provides the initial stages of this training.

One Tank Trip

WFMZ-TV 69 from Reading, Pennsylvania visited The State Museum of Pennsylvania on February 8th, 2017. Karin Mallett prepared a feature piece on great places to visit that are one tank of gas from Reading and our gallery was the focus of this visit. Karin interviewed Kurt Carr, Senior Curator and Janet Johnson in the gallery and provide a nice overview of the spectacular exhibits. Please click on the link below and enjoy this glimpse of the museum during this One Tank Trip!
One Tank Trip: Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology

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